Mother's Day

I love Mother's Day.

Today, my dad and Brent's dad cooked dinner for all of the mothers.  Brent put away the food and washed the dishes.  (This is why I have time to blog.)

The ladies at church made treats for all the children to take home to their mothers.  The girls brought me muffins with this story attached.  (Think If You Give a Moose a Muffin.)

If you give a mom a muffin,
she’ll want a cup of milk to go with it.
She’ll pour herself some.
Her three year-old will come and spill the milk.
Mom will wipe it up.
Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks.
She’ll remember she has to do laundry.
When she puts the laundry into the washer,
she’ll trip over shoes and bump into the freezer.
Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper.
She will get out a pound of hamburger.
She’ll look for her cookbook
(How to Make 101 Things With a Pound of Hamburger.)
The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail.
She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow.
She will look for her checkbook.
The checkbook is in her purse,
which is being dumped out by her two year-old.
Then she’ll smell something funny.
She’ll change the two year-old.
While she is changing the two year-old, the phone will ring.
Her five year-old will answer and hang up.
She’ll remember she was supposed to phone a friend
to come over for muffins and milk.
Thinking of milk will remind her that she was going to have a cup.
She will pour herself some more.
And chances are,
if she has a cup a milk,
her kids will have eaten all the muffins.

I also saw this Mother's Day video that I really liked.  I especially like the quote at the end that says, "Life doesn't come with a manual, it comes with a mother."

Happy Mother's Day!

Family Photo

After graduation, Brent's parents were trying to take a family photo.  Despite our many attempts we didn't get one that was just right.  When I uploaded the pictures to the computer and saw all the pictures I realized what an accurate depiction this is of life at the Helms' house.

 Above:  Haley is sneezing and Allie looks like she needs a bathroom break.  Sarah Kathryn must have heard Haley sneeze.

 Rachel is wondering what all the commotion is, Sarah Kathryn is destracted and Emily is crying because she doesn't want to have her picture taken.

 Joseph is tired of holding still, Haley is sneezing again, Sarah Kathryn is missing a shoe and Allie still needs a bathroom break.

 Brent tries to console Emily so she'll stop crying and smile for the picture.  

This is as good as it gets.

Law School Graduation

Brent graduated from Jones School of Law May 11, 2013.  The ceremony was held at the MPAC in downtown Montgomery.   Brent's parents, Aunt Kathy, Mamaw, all of the children and I were there.  It was a nice occasion and we are very proud of Brent.

It's almost a complete family photo.  Rachel was saving seats with Pop Pop.

Brent was very happy that Mamaw and Aunt Kathy could make it.  They also helped a lot with the children!

Each graduate was asked to invite someone special to them to perform the hooding ceremony for them at graduation.  Brent asked his mother and she was thrilled.

Just Stuff

This post is for catching up on things I haven't blogged about yet.  I started this blog so that distant family could stay updated about the kids with pictures and stories.  Now I blog because I don't scrapbook and I don't make photo albums.  So one day when the children are grown this is how they will go back and remember their childhood.  They can't read my journals until I die.

 I always love sleeping babies.  Right now as I'm posting this Sarah Kathryn is saying, "baby, baby" and laughing.  To say that she loves Rachel is an understatement.  When I'm feeding Rachel Sarah Kathryn sits next to me on the couch and lays her head on Rachel's tummy while she eats.  And the feeling is mutual.  Rachel lights up with a smile whenever Sarah Kathryn is around.  They're another set of fast friends.

 This is Haley and Allie with our neighbor Mrs. Gray.  Last Saturday Mrs. Gray took the girls to a picnic and fashion show sponsored by the Millbrook Civic Club.  The girls had a great time drinking punch and eating finger sandwiches.  They said they were embarassed because of all the immodest clothes at the fashion show.  Most people think we're peculiar because of our dress standards, but to Haley and Allie it's the other way around.  Modesty is beauty.  We're trully blessed to have the Grays for neighbors.  They're so good to the children and they've been true friends to our family.

 We had a movie party last Friday night and invited 5 other families from church.  We had 16 children at the house that night and it was so fun!  I made taco soup for dinner, the kids played in the back yard, we watched "Cars 2" and had cupcakes, popcorn, fruit and pretzels for snacks.  When the movie was over the kids all danced in the living room until their parents came to take them home.  Going clockwise starting with Sarah Kathryn there's Aaron (Allie's best friend), Allie, Emily, Lizzie, Sara, Elise (Allie's other best friend), Haley, Davis and Reagan.  The other three boys were in the living room, including Ryan who's four years old and Emily's best friend.  The night of the party Ryan says to me and his dad, "One day when I grow up I'm going to serve a mission in Urugay (where Ryan's dad served) and when I get home I'm going to marry Emily.  Emily, you wanna marry me?"  After Brent established that Ryan plans on being an astronaut and has money in savings account, he approved the match.

 Emily is a great big sister.  She loves to sit and hold Rachel and she helps Sarah Kathryn all the time get snacks and put her shoes on.  Of course, she and Joseph are still the best of friends.

 This is Brent at the investiture of Probate Judge John E. Enslen.  Judge Enslen was sworn in on January 10, 2013 and he appointed Brent as his chief clerk.  Brent loves his job and is learning a lot from the judge.  We are very grateful for the opportunity this is for Brent.  On the day of the investiture Judge Enslen asked Brent to introduce our family to the public.  Afterwards we had lots of comments about how well behaved the children were.  Brent had to carry Sarah Kathryn to the podium with him while he introduced himself and everyone thought it was cute.  The picture below is the picture that was posted in the paper announcing Brent as chief clerk.  There were over 150 aplicants.  We're so proud of him!

Yes, Joseph is wearing underwear on his head.  No worries, they're clean!  I include this photo because it demonstrates that although Joseph has 5 sisters, knows the theme song to "My Little Pony", likes to watch Barbie movies, has worn a tutu and sometimes plays with dolls, he is all boy. He thinks bodily noises are funny, likes underwear on his head, loves dirt, and says that every tractor or motorcycle is "so cool!"  He's my little man who's always trying to be a big man.  He tells me to wait in the house while he carries his baseball bat outside to fight the raccoons and he pushes his toy lawnmower right behind Brent while he mows the yard and then helps put all the yard equipment away.  We love our little boy!

Picnic with Dad

Today we picked Brent up for a lunch break at the park.  I took some fun pictures while we were there.  Everyone had a good time and the kids especially enjoyed having Brent there to play with them.

 Cuteness!!!!

 She was excited I was taking her picture.

 Haley and Sarah Kathryn were playing on the slide.

 Brent asked Joseph if he could climb this ladder.  Joseph said, "I can do it!  I'm not scared!"

 She's not doing anything exciting, but this is about all she does.  You can tell she's growing.

 Emily told me her hair was sticky.  I told her it's called sweat.  She better get used to it.  It was 85 degrees today and it's only April.

 Joseph humored me and let me take these pictures of him in the tunnel even though he was "ready to go home."

 Haley has always been a monkey.

Happy Easter!

It was not a Happy Easter this year!  Easter morning I woke up with a 102.5 degree fever ( I later learned I have pneumonia) and Joseph and Allie woke up with the roto virus, and a nasty case of it.  So, we missed church, missed the easter egg hunt and the family dinner.  Brent missed the next two days of work taking care of us and we had to send Rachel off to stay with grandparents because the roto virus is so dangerous for infants.  Then we spent 3 days scrubbing down the house and suburban to get rid of all the germs before Rachel came home.  We had our easter egg hunt a week late but I think the kids enjoyed it just as much.  Who doesn't love finding hidden candy in their yard?

 She's still our little pixie!

 Sarah Kathryn didn't find many eggs because she was too busy eating the candy out of the first egg she found.

 Haley and Allie are nice enough to leave the easy finds for the little kids.  They're such good sisters.  They also shared their candy.

 Everything is so exciting at Sarah Kathryn's age.

 Sometimes I forget that Allie is only 6.  She still gets excited about simple things.  I love it!

 Joseph is sharing.

 I think Sarah Kathryn stole someone's egg.

Bringing Home Baby

Rachel Marlene Helms was born Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 1:45 p.m.  She weighed 9 lbs. and was 20 inches long.  

Papa picked us up from the hospital on Thursday.  The children were very excited to see the new baby and have her home with us.

Rachel has been very quiet and sleeps well during the night.  I thought this would be our most difficult adjustment to a new baby (only because this is #6) , but it's been the easiest.  This is a blessing because of everything else we've been through lately. 

Today marks my first full week of taking care of 6 children all by myself and I have to say, it's been great.  Maybe the awful pregnancy makes taking care of all these children seem like a breeze, but I think it's because we're all genuinely happy together.  It could also be that Brent's bar exam is over, he finished his research for a piece of legislation that is going before the senate and he finished a citing project for a work that is about to be published.  Bringing Rachel home has been a real joy.  Brent and I also noted that this is the first time in our marriage that we've brought two babies home to the same house.  Life is settling down for us and becoming more exciting in other ways, but all good ways.  We can clearly see the hand of the Lord in our lives and we're so grateful.

 Joseph and Emily are always asking to hold "Baby Rachel."  Emily wants to know why she's always wearing pajamas and why she doesn't wear shoes.  She also doesn't understand why we can't take her out in public yet.

 This little bear has Rachel's footprints stamped on the back.  The gown Rachel is wearing is a gift from Ms. Hattie Jean, a colleague and friend of Brent's at the Probate Office.  Haley made the pink fleece baby blanket especially for Rachel's homecoming.

 Babies are so sweet!  No matter how many we have, I never get over it.

Emily is very proud of her little sister.  I think this is such a great picture.  I know it's one I'll look at 20 years from now and remember it as clearly as the day it happened.

Everyone asks what Sarah Kathryn thinks of the new baby.  I can tell she loves Rachel even though it's been an adjustment for her.  I spend extra time snuggling and playing with Sarah Kathryn so she understands that she's still my baby.  Our only concern is that she wants to wrestle and play with Rachel like she wrestles and plays with Joseph and Emily.  We keep a close eye on her, but I'm glad that she's interested in Rachel and obviously cares for her.  I can only imagine that they will be great friends.